, better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

, was a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, voice actor and actor best known for his work on

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

s for

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

and

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...

. For over 50 years, he had recorded over 1,200 songs for Japanese

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

and

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

. He was referred to by fans and fellow performers alike as the of the ''

anison , also shortened to , is a genre of music originating from Japanese pop music. Anime songs consist of theme, insert, and image songs for anime, video game, and audio drama CD series, as well as any other song released primarily for the anime ...

'', or anime music genre. He produced the singing duo

Apple Pie An apple pie is a fruit pie in which the principal filling ingredient is apples. The earliest printed recipe is from England. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), or cheddar cheese. It is generally ...

since 1990 and created the

Anison , also shortened to , is a genre of music originating from Japanese pop music. Anime songs consist of theme, insert, and image songs for anime, video game, and audio drama CD series, as well as any other song released primarily for the anime ...

band

JAM Project JAM Project ("JAM" standing for "Japan Animationsong Makers") are a Japanese anison band founded on July 19, 2000 by anison singer Ichirou Mizuki. The band is composed of many vocal artists well known in the anime music industry. Aside from the m ...

in 2000.

Biography

Career

Mizuki was born in Setagaya,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. In January 1968, he signed to the

Nippon Columbia , often pronounced ''Korombia'', operating internationally as , is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK C ...

label and released his first single called "Kimi ni sasageru Boku no Uta", composed by Kanae Wada. In 1971, Mizuki recorded the song which was used as the opening theme for ''

Genshi Shōnen Ryū Genshi may refer to: * Fujiwara no Genshi (1016–1039), Empress consort (''chūgū'') of Emperor Go-Suzaku of Japan * Genshi (templating language) Genshi is a template engine for XML-based vocabularies written in Python. Genshi is used to ea ...

''. This began his foray into recording well over 1200 songs for various soundtracks as well as original singles and albums. Other early songs sung by Mizuki include the themes to '' Chojin Barom 1'', ''

Mazinger Z is a Japanese super robot manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. The first manga version was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from October 1972 to August 1973, and it later was reissued in Kodansha ''TV Magazine ...

'', ''

Babel II is a Japanese 1971 manga series by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. It was translated into an animated format in 1973 as a television series, in 1992 as an original video animation series and in 2001 as a thirteen-episode television series. Yokoyama' ...

'', ''

Robot Detective is a tokusatsu superhero TV series. Created by Shotaro Ishinomori, the series was produced by Toei Company Ltd., and broadcast on Fuji TV from April 5 to September 27, 1973, with a total of 26 episodes. It stars Jirō Chiba. The hero of this ...

'', ''

Kamen Rider X is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It was broadcast in 1974 on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET, now known as TV Asahi. It is the third entry in the Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows. It starred Ryo Hayami in the ...

'', ''

Great Mazinger is a Japanese manga comic book and anime television series by manga artist Go Nagai. The story is a sequel and direct continuation of ''Mazinger Z'' series after its initial success. The series was aired on Japanese television in 1974, im ...

'', '' Ganbare!! Robocon'', ''

Kamen Rider Stronger is a Japanese Tokusatsu television show. It is the fifth entry in the Kamen Rider Series, the show was broadcast on TBS and MBS from April 5, 1975 to December 27, 1975. ''Stronger'' is a co-production between Ishinomori Productions and Toei, a ...

'', '' Tekkaman'', '' Steel Jeeg'', ''

Akumaizer 3 is a Japanese science fiction tokusatsu television series, created by Shotaro Ishinomori and produced by Toei Company. The series premiered on Tuesday October 7, 1975, at 7:30, and ran for 38 episodes in that timeslot on NET, now known as TV Asa ...

'', ''

Chōdenji Robo Combattler V ''Combattler V'', full name , is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Toei Dōga and animated by Soeisha (later renamed as Nippon Sunrise) that aired from 1976 to 1977. It is the first part of the '' Robot Romance Trilogy'' o ...

'', and ''

Space Pirate Captain Harlock is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Leiji Matsumoto. It was serialized in ''Play Comic'' from 1977 to 1979, with the chapters collected into five ''tankōbon'' volumes by Akita Shoten. The series follows the titular Capta ...

''. His extensive discography in the 1970s led to his dubbing as and the , with whom

Mitsuko Horie is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer. She was born in Yamato, Kanagawa. She has voiced several characters throughout her career, such as Sailor Galaxia in '' Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars'' and Remi in the Nippon Animation World Masterp ...

is the "Queen" and

Hironobu Kageyama is a Japanese singer and composer prominent in the soundtracks for anime, video game and tokusatsu productions. He is sometimes called Kami (Kei) by his fans. Kageyama got his big break at age 16, as lead singer of the rock band Lazy. By the ea ...

is the "Prince". Mizuki was also part of the judging panel at the

Animax Anison Grand Prix The is a Japanese anime song music competition, organized by Animax, in association with Jupiter Telecommunications. Outline The annual competition is first held across a series of preliminaries in several Japanese cities, with the chosen finali ...

, with Horie and

Yumi Matsuzawa is a Japanese singer from Fujimi, Saitama. She is best known for her debut release, "You Get to Burning", the opening theme for ''Martian Successor Nadesico'', as well as the movie version's theme song "Dearest" and the song "Chikyuugi", the op ...

. Mizuki performed theme songs throughout the 1980s and 1990s, for shows such as ''

Beast King GoLion is a Japanese super robot anime television series. The animation from ''GoLion'' was edited and trimmed to create the version of the American '' Voltron: Defender of the Universe'' series, with new names and dialogue. In 2008, ''GoLion'' was ...

'', ''

Getter Robo Go , sometimes romanized as ''Getter Robot Go'' and known in the United States as ''Venger Robo'', is a Japanese mecha anime and manga series and the third entry in the ''Getter Robo'' franchise originally created by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa. ...

'', and ''

Jikuu Senshi Spielban is a Japanese tokusatsu television series, part of the Metal Hero Series franchise created by Toei Co. Ltd. and aired from to . ''Spielbans footage was used for Saban’s live-action series, ''VR Troopers''. For distribution purposes, Toei Com ...

'', his work not as extensive until 2000. On July 17, 2000, with fellow ''anison'' vocalists

(''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...

''),

Masaaki Endoh is a Japanese singer-songwriter who is prominent in the area of soundtracks for anime and tokusatsu productions. He is one of the founders of the Anison band JAM Project and has been a regular member ever since its inception in 2000. His nickn ...

(''

The King of Braves GaoGaiGar is a Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise's internal "Studio 7" division alongside Tokyu Agency. It is the eighth and final installment in Takara's ''Brave series'' franchise. It is directed by Yoshitomo Yonetani, with Yosh ...

''),

Eizo Sakamoto is a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter who was born in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture. He is most famous for being the lead vocalist of heavy metal band Anthem. In the 1990s he started up the band Animetal which performed heavy metal co ...

(vocalist of

ANTHEM An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

and

Animetal was a Japanese heavy metal band who specialized in metal covers of theme songs from classic and modern Japanese anime and tokusatsu television series. They were composed of several luminaries of the Japanese metal scene, most notably vocalist ...

), and

Rica Matsumoto is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer who was born in Yokohama, Japan. Her name is also sometimes romanized as Rica Matsumoto. She was one of the founders of the anison band JAM Project. After early stage work, she began both voice ac ...

(''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

''), he formed the "supergroup"

. He later reduced his membership in the group to "part-time", allowing for the entry of

Hiroshi Kitadani is a Japanese singer, who primarily performs theme songs and other songs in anime. He also works behind the scenes of many songs. He currently works with JAM Project. He is most famous for singing the first, fifteenth, nineteenth (with Kishidan) ...

(''

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chapte ...

''),

Masami Okui is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Itami, Hyōgo. She began her professional musical career at age 21 as a concert backup singer. From almost the very beginning of her career, Masami has sung themes for anime television and movies. She ...

(''

Revolutionary Girl Utena is a series created by Be-Papas, an artist collective founded by Kunihiko Ikuhara. The primary entries in the series include a 1996 manga written by Chiho Saito, a 1997 anime television series directed by Ikuhara, and ''Adolescence of ...

''), and

Yoshiki Fukuyama is a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter. He originally became known on an international level for his work in the anime ''Macross 7'' where he was the singing voice and guitar of the show's main character, Basara Nekki. Fukuyama is curre ...

(''

Macross 7 is an anime television series. It is a sequel to the show ''The Super Dimension Fortress Macross'' that takes place many years after the events of the first series following a cast of mostly new characters. The show ran from October 16, 1 ...

'' as

Basara Nekki is an anime television series. It is a sequel to the show ''The Super Dimension Fortress Macross'' that takes place many years after the events of the first series following a cast of mostly new characters. The show ran from October 16, 1 ...

's in

Fire Bomber Fire Bomber is a fictional rock band from the anime series ''Macross 7'' (and related projects such as ''Macross 7 Trash'', '' Macross 7 Encore'', and ''Macross Dynamite 7''). In real life, Fire Bomber's music was performed by Yoshiki Fukuyama ( ...

). He would return to recording in 2007 with his performances on the soundtrack of ''

Juken Sentai Gekiranger is Toei Company's thirty-first entry in the ''Super Sentai'' metaseries. Production began on September 29, 2006 with principal photography beginning on October 6, 2006. It premiered on February 18, 2007 on TV Asahi's 2007 ''Super Hero Time'' prog ...

'', singing its ending theme "Tao", an image song "Chikai", and on another image song "Burning up! ~Jōnetsu o Uketsui de~" performed as a duet with

Takayoshi Tanimoto , is a Japanese vocalist known for his theme song performances in '' Digimon'', ''Zatch Bell!'' and ''Dragon Ball Kai'', the last of which he sang " Dragon Soul" and " Yeah! Break! Care! Break!" as one-half of a special unit, Dragon Soul. Overview ...

who sang the series' opening theme. He also sang on JAM Project's single "STORMBRINGER", the opening theme for ''

Kotetsushin Jeeg is a 13-episode Japanese television anime sequel to the 1975 Super Robot series ''Steel Jeeg'', created by Go Nagai. It is directed by Jun Kawagoe (previously known for ''New Getter Robo'' and ''Innocent Venus''). This 21st century sequel be ...

'', a sequel to ''Steel Jeeg''. In 2008, he released his 40th anniversary ''Ichirou Mizuki: Newest Best'' album, the 5-CD box set including 216 songs from his discography, and the ''TV Size Best'' album. Other recent releases by Mizuki include two singles for Chōjin Neiger, a local hero from

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its ge ...

. His most recent work is a single for the OVA adaptation of '' Katteni Kaizō'', with its theme song "Katte ni Kaizō Shite mo Ii ze", and an insert song, called "Nuiguruma", featuring Kenji Ohtsuki. In 2016, Mizuki was a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the

Tokyo Anime Award The Tokyo Anime Awards started in 2002, but was named in 2005. The first, second and third award ceremonies were simply named 'Competition'. The award ceremonies were held at the Tokyo International Anime Fair (TAF) until 2013. In 2014, after the ...

s Festival. In 2020, he received the Tanita Health Award, which "honor individuals or groups that have contributed to improving the health of Japanese people." On April 25, 2021, it was announced Mizuki was suffering from partial vocal cord paralysis and would focus on recovering from it. In July 2022, Mizuki's management revealed he had been diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes and brain. He said he had surgery in June and was undergoing physical therapy and speech therapy. He said he was planning to hold a belated celebration of his 50 years in the music industry, and did not plan to retire. Mizuki died from lung cancer on December 6, 2022, at the age of 74.

Television

In addition to his career as a vocalist, Mizuki has been cast in several roles as both a voice actor and a live-action actor. As a voice actor, he played the roles of Yoldo in the first episode of the

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

Dangaioh is a Japanese anime OVA series produced and animated by AIC and Artmic and released in Japan in 1987. Dangaioh featured character designs by creator Toshiki Hirano, mechanical designs by Shoji Kawamori, and animation direction by Masami ...

, Rat Hector in '' Coral no Tanken'', and the villain Keisar Ephes in the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

'' Super Robot Wars Alpha 3''. His live-action roles include Dr. Ben in ''

'' and (most notably) Voicelugger Gold in ''

Voicelugger is a Japanese tokusatsu that aired from January 12 to March 30, 1999. It was the last production by Shotaro Ishinomori, released posthumously, who intended for the series to be serious, while it was originally written to be a parody of older toku ...

'', a Tokusatsu show based on the last concept written by

Shotaro Ishinomori was a Japanese manga artist who became an influential figure in manga, anime, and , creating several immensely popular long-running series such as '' Cyborg 009,'' the ''Super Sentai'' series (later adapted into the ''Power Rangers'' series), ...

before his death. He also made a guest appearance on the Japanese comedy television show, Gaki No Tsukai. He voiced the title character

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo is a Japanese comedy manga series written and illustrated by Yoshio Sawai. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from February 2001 to November 2005, with its chapters collected in twenty-one ' ...

in the first

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

game of the series, as well as singing the theme song. In 2010, he had a role in an episode of arc of ''

Kamen Rider W , is a 2009-2010 Japanese tokusatsu drama, the eleventh series in the Heisei period run of the Kamen Rider Series and the twentieth overall. It premiered following the finale of ''Kamen Rider Decade'' on September 6, 2009, and aired alongside '' S ...

'' along with fellow musicians

Aya Kamiki is a Japanese singer, actress and model. Her music ranges from pop, rock to R&B. She resides in Osaka, and is signed with Tokyo-based AVEX recording label. She is the vocalist of the rock band Uroboros and the rock duo Sonic Lover Reckless with ...

and

TAKUYA Takuya is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Takuya Asanuma (born 1971), Japanese guitarist and former member of Judy and Mary who performs as "TAKUYA" *Takuya Eguchi, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese long-dist ...

. In 2012, he starred in one of the episodes in ''

Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters is Japanese tokusatsu drama and the 36th entry in Toei Company's Super Sentai metaseries, following ''Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger''. Its theme is based on spy movies and cyber technology and premiered on February 26, 2012 on TV Asahi, joining ''Kame ...

'' as well as singing "Li-Oh! Kenzan Champion!" which is a theme song for the new robot introduced in the episode. His voice is also used as the voice for the robot's control system.

Tokusatsu

*''

'' (Voicelugger

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

) *''

Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger is Toei's twenty-fifth production of the ''Super Sentai'' metaseries airing in 2001 and celebrated the franchise's 25th anniversary. Footage from this show was used in the 2002 American series '' Power Rangers Wild Force'' and was later dubbed ...

Movie'' (

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...

org (Voice)) *''

'' (Custom Visor (Voice), Lio Attache/Lio Blaster (Voice), Saburo Hazuki)

Books

*Hitoshi Hasebe: "Anison - Kashu Ichirou Mizuki Sanjuu Shuunen Kinen Nekketsu Shashinshuu" (兄尊(アニソン)―歌手水木一郎三十周年記念熱血写真集) (1999, Oakla Publishing) *Ichirou Mizuki & Project Ichirou: "Aniki Damashii ~Anime Song no Teiou / Mizuki Ichirou no Sho~" (アニキ魂~アニメソングの帝王・水木一郎の書~) (2000, Aspect)

References

External links

Ichirou Mizuki Official Website

at Anison Database *

at Henshin Hall of Fame *
Ichirou Mizuki at Discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mizuki, Ichirou 1948 births 2022 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in Japan 20th-century Japanese male singers 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese male singers 21st-century Japanese singers Anime musicians JAM Project members Japanese male pop singers Male voice actors from Setagaya Musicians from Setagaya Video game musicians